Marcus explores ѕоmе insightful rеаѕоnѕ as tо whу holding a rаfflе іѕ not оnlу a grеаt fundrаіѕіng орроrtunіtу but also offers several specifics on how to make a raffle more successful by having fun. Marcus is a Business/Marketing major at The University of Texas, Austin. Thanks Marcus for your fine essay and best of luck with your studies!

Austin, a city which prides itself on its local establishments and community gatherings, has proven itself to be the optimal place to host a raffle, or at least in my eyes it has. You see, growing up here and in a church-going family, who was often involved parish activities, has exposed me to some of the successful techniques used to generate revenue for the church to stay afloat. I knew what went into raffle-based fundraising and I was aware of what came out of it. From my experience, there were three major components of every good raffle: prizes, prices, and participation. Either it was a match made in heaven or that’s just how my mind remembered it best, but the fact that they all start with p’s was not my intention haha, I promise you. To maximize revenue (ticket sales) it was essential to offer the best prizes, with tickets at the best prices, and have volunteers who were motivated to sell not only the products, but the cause as well. Though there are plenty of other things that go into hosting a successful raffle, these are a just a few that managed to stay in my mind, despite how little storage remains after unintentionally memorizing song lyrics.

You can’t have a raffle without prizes, and if you do, well then I don’t think you quite get the spirit of raffling. Austin is a haven for local establishments and these businesses and restaurants often become crowd favorites. Eateries such as Torchy’s Tacos, Kerbey Lane, and Juiceland have blown up in terms of their popularity and there is no lack of desire for a gift card to one of those delicious places. For these local come-ups, publicity via raffles is a great opportunity to spread their name and increase their consumer base, and in my experience these types of prizes have always been a hit. There are also the modern-day technologies and appliances which are always in demand: tv’s, tablets, and other tech toys. Prizes can make the difference between a good raffle and a great one, but a commonality between them all is that they rarely come free to the people who put on these events. Discounts are offered but it’s almost understood that the raffle-throwing party must compensate for the discount with some in-person advertising. Then there’s what I like to call a wild card prize, something that is not only high in demand, but is one of a kind or limited in quantity. I observed this phenomenon with the recently released Nintendo NES. This throwback game system sold out in stores before the day was over, EVERY DAY IT WAS RELEASED. Whoever could get their hands on one could put it on the internet and sell it for upwards of $200, which was a $140 markup. I was one of the very few who woke up at 4am to camp out and endure the cold for one of these so that I could give it as a gift to my dad. My point here is, rarity and popularity breeds demand, and will motivate raffle participants to do the unordinary. If raffle volunteers are willing to put in the extra effort to offer rare prizes it won’t go unrewarded… perhaps you’ll even attract lines that spark a bystander’s curiosity.

It’s not just about prizes though, a successful raffle also offers prices and an experience that encourages people to come back and hopefully bring more people with them. A well-structured, affordable, and exciting event is key to exemplary raffling. There is only one winner per prize, so it’s important that the experience and cause behind the raffle offsets the disappointment of not winning. The ambiance (music, lighting, style) and the people (raffle-goers, volunteers, speakers) can make the biggest difference believe it or not. Light and up-tempo music gets the raffle juices flowing and can subconsciously lead to more impulsive ticket buying, and friendly people alieve the anxiety of leaving money up to chance. Psychological pricing is also key to easy raffling. Whole numbers (ex: $1.00) are easier on the wallet and eye than a price with dollars AND cents, as nobody wants to deal with change. You may be thinking, alright, this is a bit of stretch kid, nobody is thinking about this when they put on a raffle, at least not intentionally. I’d have to agree! At my parish’s Fall Fest Raffle, nobody ever paid extensive attention to these aspects. But, as an aspiring marketing major, and freshman who was enthralled in his intro sociology class, I have come to understand that making a difference, no matter how small, is a difference nonetheless, and if you’re not willing to sacrifice time for even minor improvements, then you’re not trying your hardest. That brings me to my final point.

Not much has to be said about what it takes to encourage volunteers to sell more raffle tickets, it’s simple. In order to have eager and enthused volunteers the organization must have a cause that people believe in. If you’re raising money to help abused and stray animals, people will most likely back such a fundraiser because they believe in the change that they can make in these animals’ lives. I for one am a strong proponent of such a fundraiser as my dogs were once shelter dogs. My love for Iggy and Rocko and all the other dogs is neither here nor there, the point is that volunteers should have some sort of attachment to the organization’s cause. On top of that emotional investment, it helps to have an extra incentive. A bonus dependent on ticket sales would offer volunteers a stake in the prizes of their choosing. For every x amount of tickets they sell, they get y amount of tickets for themselves and that’s just simple motivation.

I have used their raffle ticket services going on 3 years and they are a pleasure to work with. They made ordering and re-ordering simple and easy and just placed another order. I would recommend them to anyone. Tod G.